Technical Field
Example embodiments of the present inventive concepts relate to three-dimensional semiconductor devices and, more specifically, to three-dimensional semiconductor devices having improved reliability.
Discussion of Related Art
A semiconductor device may be highly integrated to meet the demands of high performance and low cost. For example, an integration degree of a two-dimensional (2D) or planar semiconductor device may be related to an area needed for a unit memory cell. Therefore, the integration density of the 2D or planar semiconductor device may be related to a technique used for the fine pattern formation of the device. However, high cost equipment may be required for such fine pattern formation in a 2D or planar semiconductor manufacturing process.
To help mitigate this limitation, a three-dimensional (3D) semiconductor device including three-dimensional memory cells has been developed. However, while reducing a manufacturing cost thereof per bit compared to two-dimensional semiconductor devices, an improved processing technique for manufacturing three-dimensional semiconductor devices having a high reliability may achieve additional benefits.